Observations as I struggle to learn how to play chess from scratch.
Updates
ELO from Chess.com.
Fallen off drastically since I stopped doing puzzles and started playing more Blitz than 15+10. RIP.
Puzzle rating: 2400 — 13,000 puzzles under the belt now
Playing at 1500 requires a level of concentration I don't have often at the moment.
Hit 1500 ELO
Had a two week period where I was on fire and everything made sense. Now it's faded and I feel way out of my depth at 1500. Even at my best, every game feels like being squeezed to death gradually unless they give up a big tactical opportunity.
Hit 1400 ELO
Started looking at the Alapin for white to have something in response to the Sicilian because it's so different.
Hit 1300 ELO
Winning most games on tactics — if I make it to an endgame and the opponent isn't as clueless as me I'm fucked. Puzzles are starting to help with endgames but not enough to play them well at this level.
Puzzle rating: 2300
Hit 1200 ELO
Learning about the Caro Kann for black
Learning the Caro Kann has given context to the meaning of fighting for the centre — now I understand why it's useful and more importantly, I can see what certain pawn moves are trying to achieve.
Puzzle rating: 2000
Started doing puzzles daily
Hit 1000 ELO
Hit 900 ELO
Hit 700 ELO
Learning about the Ruy Lopez for white.
Learning one opening and trying to play it every chance I get is helping to glue together some of the advice I'm trying to follow. Without a rough plan to follow it's impossible to know the value of certain pieces or when to trade.
Starting from scratch
Girlfriend got me a chessboard for Christmas, never played before, don't know the rules.
Tips that helped starting out
-
Stick to symmetrical e-pawn openings until I learn to navigate opening principles.
-
Don’t panic when opponents break opening principles, just stick to them myself as much as possible.
-
Keep my pieces defended and look for my opponent’s undefended pieces.
-
Check carefully what becomes undefended when I plan to move a piece.
-
Consider letting my opponent initiate trades early on so I develop a piece into the centre when re-capturing.
-
Don’t move my pieces into the opponents half of the board until they can be well supported there.
-
Develop knights quickly.
-
Castle early to get my king out of the centre.
-
Get the back rank clear to connect my rooks.
-
Get bishops onto long diagonals where they control more squares.
-
Move rooks onto open files, especially if they x-ray the opponent’s king.
-
Spend plenty of time calculating trades, and watch for defenders that are behind others.
-
Prefer keeping bishops over knights if all else is equal.
-
Watch for pins on my pieces that prevent re-capturing when trading.
-
Be more open to trading evenly when I have a material advantage.
-
Scan for forks, for and against, especially when a knight is in my half.
-
Be patient when I have a material advantage in the endgame.
-
Be mindful of losing pieces by being forced to move out of check in the endgame.